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Girdle of Melian
The Girdle of Melian (also known as Veil of Melian or simply the Veil) was an enchanted barrier surrounding the realm of Doriath throughout much of its existence, created by its namesake, the Maia and Queen Melian. The Girdle enclosed the three forests of Neldoreth, Region, Nivrim and part of the land of Aelin-uial.The Atlas of Middle-earth, The First Age, The Elder Days, "Beleriand and the Lands to the North"The Atlas of Middle-earth, The First Age, The Elder Days, "The Battles of Beleriand" All those who attempted to pass through it became enmeshed and wandered aimlessly as if lost in an impossible maze of trees, placing them in a situation where their food would eventually run out and they would die. The Girdle also protected Doriath from the dark influence and prying eyes of Morgoth, similar to the way Galadriel used Nenya to protect Lothlórien from Sauron.The Silmarillion,'' Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter X: "Of the Sindar" Only those permitted by Thingol or Melian, or with greater power than them, could successfully navigate through it. The only two known to have passed through against her will were Beren and Carcharoth.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion,'' Chapter X: "Of the Sindar" History The Girdle of Melian was raised by Melian shortly after the First Battle of Beleriand to ensure that Doriath remain untouched by the forces of the enemy.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter X: "Of the Sindar" When the Ñoldor returned to Middle-earth from the West, Thingol sought to bar them from settlement in the lands of the Sindar and would only permit guests into Doriath through the barrier. After learning of the Kinslaying of Alqualondë, Thingol forbade all Ñoldor, save for those of the House of Finarfin his kin from entering the realm through the barrier. The Girdle's long history of barring unwanted intruders came to an end in the fourth century of the First Age. Beren passed through unrestrained and later during the Quest for the Silmaril; the crazed Carcharoth breached the barrier for he could not be stopped. In around FA 470 Túrin, sent to Doriath by his mother to seek service there became lost in the barrier along with his companions and almost perished, had it not been for Beleg.The Children of Húrin, Narn i Chîn Húrin, The Tale of the Children of Húrin, IV: "The Departure of Túrin" Due Mim/Glaurung's cursed treasure hoard corrupting many of Thingol's elves, some of the treacherous elves allowed other treacherous Dwarves from Belogost and Nogrod past the veil, who then ambushed Thingol in the woods while he was on a hunt, who had not long before survived the battle with other treacherous Dwarves who lived in Thousand Caves some time before. The Girdle was lifted by Melian who after the death of Thingol soon left Middle-earth and returned to Aman. Doriath lay unprotected from then on. Behind the scenes In The History of Middle-earth,'' Christopher Tolkien wrote; :'Apart from a few matters of detail in texts and notes that have not been published, all that my father ever wrote on the subject of the ruin of Doriath has now been set out (...) If these materials are compared with the story told in The Silmarillion it is seen at once that this latter is fundamentally changed, to a form for which in certain essential features there is no authority whatever in my father's own writings. :There were very evident problems with the old story. Had he ever turned to it again, my father would undoubtedly have found some solution other than that in the Quenta to the question: How was the treasure of Nargothrond brought to Doriath? There, the curse that Mîm laid upon the gold at his death 'came upon the possessors in this wise. Each one of Húrin's company died or was slain in quarrels upon the road; but Húrin went unto Thingol and sought his aid, and the folk of Thingol bore the treasure to the Thousand Caves.' :As I said in IV.188, 'it ruins the gesture, if Húrin must get the king himself to send for the gold with which he is then to be humiliated'. It seems to me most likely (but this is mere speculation) that my father would have reintroduced the outlaws from the old Tales (11.113-15,222-3) as the bearers of the treasure (though not the fierce battle between them and the Elves of the Thousand Caves): in the scrappy writings at the end of The Wanderings of Húrin Asgon and his companions reappear after the disaster in Brethil and go with Húrin to Nargothrond (pp. 306-7). In ''Beren and Lúthien, Christopher Tolkien went back to his father's original writings and not Guy Gavriel Kay's invented chapter in ''The Silmarillion'', "Of the Ruin of Doriath", instead he uses at least some of his father's explanations (although somewhat simplified), that had been used in the Quenta Noldorinwa. As well as one of the explanations he thought unlikely when he was writing The Silmarillion in which he requested Thingol go out bring the treasure back to Doriath. Translations References de:Gürtel Melians it:Cintura di Melian ru:Пояс Мелиан pl:Obręcz Meliany Category:Walls Category:Doriath